Introduction to Mindfulness – Part I

What is this thing called “mindfulness?”

This is the first of a four-part series that will explore the topic of Mindfulness. It’s somewhat of a buzz-word these days, with even HR Departments in corporate America getting on the bandwagon, and offering lecture series to employees.

But it’s a subject that needs some explaining and that is what Dr Peter will be doing over the next month.

Erika Slater CH – Director Free At Last Hypnosis

Often times you will hear people make reference to the concept “mindfulness“.

They will drop the word on you, then they just kind of leave you hanging, never explaining what the word meant or what they intended by its use.

“You need to be more mindful of what you are doing or the decisions you are making!” They might say.

And there is you, “Say what? How can I be more mindful of what I am doing… is there another gear I can shift my mind into?” Ah, herein lies the vexation as to where most people get lost when it comes to “mindfulness“.

According to Psychology Today magazine, “mindfulness” is a state of active and open attention on the present moment. You are in a state of living in the moment – being if you will! When you are able to do this, you become capable of just observing your thoughts as a viewer without judging them as being either good or bad.

Mindfulness is being more in a subjective experience where you enjoy the moment without wearing critical sensors or blinders… the mind is allowed to be in a state of tranquility.

Most people live their lives in a daily state of mental chaos. Minds never cease from racing whereby most of these thoughts are not only random, but also negative ones as well. You see, most people’s minds operate on overdrive or “by proxy” without any monitoring of their thoughts and these thoughts tend to gravitate toward negativity.

The problem with this is that where your thoughts go, energy tends to flow. People can start their days or moments off with the best of intentions, planning to have a “great day“, but if their thoughts are wired from a negative standpoint, they start to shift in this direction and before one knows it, their moods begin to spiral downward and they start experiencing a “bad day“!

They allow their conditioned negative mindset to kick in and they just flow with it. This is where their judgmental, critical mind kicks in and they are no longer experiencing a state of tranquility.

The catch 22 with being in or getting to a state of mindfulness (mental peace and tranquility) is becoming aware of your “mindfulness” first off in order to recognize that you are not in a state of mindfulness. Basically, this is like a “chicken or egg“, which came first situation. One might wonder, well how would I know I need to work on my state of mindfulness, or whether it is “working or not“? Good point!

The way that you know that you are not in the ultimate state of mindfulness is when you are having continual racing thoughts, negative thoughts, feeling stressed out over your thoughts, etc.

The tell tale sign of being in a non-mindfulness state is when you suffer from insomnia because you just can’t seem to shut your mind down at night as it is always racing!

You are about to embark on a series of articles which will explore the dimensions of “mindfulness” and how you can get to that point in your mind right now.

[…] Meditation: The Difference Between these Two Pathways to Well-Being and Peace of Mind >>> Introduction to Mindfulness Part I (of four parts) – Erika Slater CH >>> 7 Types of Meditation: Which One is Best for You? […]